The following paragraphs are not an admission that anything discussed in them is prior art or part of the knowledge of persons skilled in the art.
Various pesticide compositions obtainable from natural sources are known to the prior art. These so-called “biopesticides” may be prepared from, for example, plants. Thus products prepared from mustard plants have been demonstrated to exhibit inhibitory effects against arthropods, weeds, fungi and bacteria. (see: Brown, J. and Morra M. J., 2005, Subcontract Report National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL/SR-510-35254). Further biopesticide compositions obtainable from plants are provided by Applicant's co-pending application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/314,661, which is incorporated by reference herein, and which discloses inactive biopesticide precursors. The inactive biopesticide precursors do not have pesticidal properties themselves, thus facilitating safe storage and transportation. The disclosed compositions are provided in dry form, or as a two component system. Other inactive dry inactive compositions are also known to the art (see e.g.: U.S. Pat. No. 7,901,701). Mixing with water of the dry biopesticide precursor compounds is required to obtain active biopesticide. In some operational settings, notably where the use of substantial volumes of biopesticide is involved, for example in large scale agricultural operations, mixing of dry biopesticide precursor compounds with water may be less desirable. Large mixing tanks are required, and upon mixing the active biopesticide needs to be transferred to devices used for pesticide application, such as a sprayer or an irrigation system. In particular, where an irrigation system is used for application of the biopesticide, it is desirable that the biopesticide precursor compounds are available in liquid form and can directly enter the irrigation system. Furthermore, where the biopesticide precursor compounds are provided in dry form or other form which is not readily miscible with water (e.g. when formulated with oil as a carrier), deviations from the optimal mixing conditions may lead to partial solution of the dry compounds in water, and consequentially loss of pesticide potency. Finally, the preparation of dry biopesticide compounds requires the removal of water from plant material, which represents a cost factor.
There are therefore still significant shortcomings in plant material based compositions capable of controlling pests known to the prior art. In particular, there is a need for liquid compositions that comprise inactive biopesticide precursor compounds.